On a different topic, the board took no action but left the door open to future discussion of USD 312 Superintendent Clark Wedel’s idea to create residential lots on district-owned land behind the district headquarters and bus barn on Main Street.

Partridge

Plainview Mennonite Church, 5610 W. Trail West Rd., is about four miles from Partridge. It uses the old Partridge school for its youth ministry program. In May 2018, USD 312 closed the newer school, constructed in 2000. The church wants to buy that property for its youth ministry.

A couple of months ago, the church made an offer to buy the school, contingent on receiving a grant. The board, cool to the idea of a contingency, did not not take the offer.

A representative of the church, Steve Sears, presented a new offer that did not contain the contingency language but still is based on the church getting a grant during the next 12 months and delaying the close on the purchase until spring 2020.

The board’s counter offer now before the church:

The district would sell the property for $100,000 - the same price the church proposed. The church would put down $5,000 in earnest money, good through Dec. 31, 2019. The church also had proposed a $5,000 down payment, but good through spring 2020.If the church was unable to close before the end of 2019, another $5,000 in earnest money would be due in January 2020 to hold the building until May 1, 2020. At that point, the church would have to purchase the building - with the total of $10,000 in earnest money counting toward the $100,000 price - or lose the $10,000 in earnest money.

Sears said the grant-writer for the church is optimistic, but the grant source has not been identified. He also said they can't apply for the grant until the church has a contract to buy the school building.

The church’s leadership meets weekly, and Sears said its response to USD 312’s offer should come soon. The Haven school board could call a special board meeting to address the church’s response.

Sears said home school groups could use the buidling, but the building would not be used as a home school.

School board members were reluctant to sell a building, advertised for $300,000, for $100,000. The bigger concern, though, was delaying the close until spring 2020. The district incurred about $60,000 in water damage costs since the building’s been closed, although the district is still discussing that cost with the insurance company. It also pays utilities costs, which averaged about $2,000 a month during the winter.

A potential buyer in Missouri proposed a $50,000 cash offer, and another out-of-state party is interested in touring the school, Alan Howard, owner-broker of Results Realty LLC, told the school board.

“This is a known commodity,” said school board member Bobbie Rohling of the church. “They will do something positive with it,” she said.

“It will be a great use for the building,” said school board member Kent McKinnis, of the church’s plan for youth ministry. The church will keep up the property, he also said. The asking price of $300,000 was “unrealistic,” McKinnis said.

Carmichael said he would love to have the school go to the church, too, but he was concerned about the district retaining ownership for nearly another year. “It’s a big roll of the dice,” he said, noting the water damage expense that the district had not expected.

Lots for development

The city of Haven is hemmed in by various boundaries - including K-96. Wedel raised the idea of the school district providing land to the city, which, in turn, could seek a grant to help cover the costs of extending infrastructure to the area.

“My idea is we retain some of the lots,” Wedel said. Four of five of the lots would be the district’s to sell, he suggested.

Board president Bryce Matteson said he wasn’t keen about giving lots to the city. Other board members thought the proximity to the bus barn might not make the location that attractive.

Matteson and board member Jessica Schmidt saw merit in the idea of lot development, and Schmidt suggested the district keep looking at it.

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